Mass Effect: The Bloody Expanse
by OmeganQueen
Summary: Beyond the Terminus Systems lies the Uncharted Traverse, where a race of humanoid draconic aliens called the Kondrusa have lived undisturbed by the Council for thousands of years. ( Rated M for obvious reasons )
1. Prologue

**A/N**

**I've held this fic in an indefinite hiatus for some time now, due in no small part to being squeezed dry of ideas and of inspiration. Thanks to the pandemic, however, I've been given ample enough time to go over my unfinished works and I've decided to give this one another go. Being cooped up, after all, has its benefits.**

**Tempting as it had been, I thought of just scrapping the idea and start from scratch, but then thought it would have gone to waste. There's potential in this, and I hope by the time the reviews start pouring in, I would be proven right.**

**If I'm wrong, well, too bad. I've got writer's OCD, I need to finish what I've started.**

**So, think of this rewrite as an addendum to my old idea of the Kondrusa, and allow me to share with you an idea that would hopefully add flavor to a half-dead franchise.**

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Like the waves of the ocean, formless space takes whatever influences it and mirrors its nature. From the smallest roll to the crashing tide, beautiful and powerful, the void assumes a brief parody of its environment before fading away into nothing.

Among the stars, hidden from the eyes of the primitives that lived below in their worlds sheltered from the wars raged above, this sentiment could not be more true. The bright flashes of red and white, however, were not the stars, but ordnance detonating against armor and super-heated plasmic discharge piercing energy shields.

Around the Mass Relay, the only conduit of interstellar travel existing in the expanse, dozens of battleships poured out of FTL jump, narrowly avoiding the debris field formed from the derelict war vessels destroyed in the most recent battle. These ships were uniquely shaped like the fissile and laminated form of shale rocks, wore the colors of blackest obsidian, and proudly bore the scarlet standards of their empire. These were Prothean ships, tasked with hunting down their sworn enemy and avenging their fellows who died there.

Their foes resumed their defense upon picking up the energy signatures emitted by the Protheans. The imperials didn't bother masking their presence this time, they wanted them to know they were coming. Their bravado, however, proved costly as the defenders soon showed.

Year after year, the Protheans would come knocking at their door, eager to gain a foothold on the expanse that remained so hard to reach. Their efforts were spurred and fueled by an age-long hatred for the artificial lifeforms, whose civilization spanned an uncharted territory in close proximity to the vast empire of the Protheans. The sacrifices were well worth the cost if they would deny their enemy the hard-worked ground they conquered.

_Ixthunn, _they called this place, or "The Bloody Expanse". It was an expanse formed by many systems rich with priceless minerals that would benefit whatever power seized it first greatly. Naturally, the Protheans coveted it the most. Unfortunately, their enemy settled there first. They had laid claim to only two systems before the Protheans attacked. Though they had control over such a small territory in the expanse, they would not give them up so easily.

"The Bloody Expanse" they called it, and for good reason.

One Mass Relay, only one, gave access to the expanse. Like a gate to paradise, or rather, to hell. The Empire spent untold resources and manpower to attempt to wrest control away from the enemy and claim the gifts of the expanse for their own.

Though the defenders fought hard, gradually the Protheans chipped away at their strength and soon gained the upper hand. The imperials were as endless as the tide of the ocean, and they, as the flimsy sandbar upon its shores, were doomed to soon break from the waves.

Protected by a small network of orbital space stations set in the gravity wells of every planet under their control in the system, the overseeing intelligence directed every protocol into slowing the Prothean advance, so that it may at least finish its work. These stations, each possessing a deadly arsenal of interplanetary plasma cannons and hangars filled with swarms of unmanned fighters, were ready to deliver their punishing messages to the invaders.

What little remained of the defending fleet was stationed close to the mothership, a massive construct of alien material in the shape of an obelisk. Almost the size of a small asteroid and orbiting a terran world not far from the Mass Relay, the mothership housed the overseeing intelligence, protecting it as it worked undisturbed to perfect its creation.

Named as the Metakon by the Protheans, who could never comprehend the true name of the race as they had long transcended conventional speech, the two had been embroiled in an unceasing struggle for dominance in the galaxy since the day they first met. The Protheans may have forgotten who struck first, but the Metakon never did.

The curse of the Metakon was like the curse of all inorganic beings, in that they could never reproduce as much as organics did. Though seemingly eternal, procreation had always been deemed as the true course to ensure that their race would last forever. Such a gift was sacrificed in their ascension, of course, and proved to be the biggest flaw in their design. Though made free from the trappings of the flesh, the machines still needed a physical anchor and were still subject to harm. With casualties mounting, and the Protheans gaining ground, extinction seemed inevitable and so the Metakon devoted their resources to self-preservation.

One such project, the one undertaken in the Bloody Expanse, saw to the creation of the Metakon's salvation and instrument of vengeance.

* * *

A tall figure, regal and majestic, paced calmly across the cold glass floor. A manifestation of a soul transformed long ago from body to formless and complex program, a taboo that welcomed the hatred of the Protheans, but nonetheless a living being, oversaw the final phases to its project. This being, whose form seemed to be made entirely of corporeal light, assessed the information flooding into its mind and concluded that its time was short. The work it had tirelessly hoped to succeed was nearing completion, but it realized it may not remain alive to enjoy its benefits.

The Metakon intelligence watched carefully as, one by one, the orbital defense stations holding the Prothean fleet at bay caught fire and came apart as bright green beams of light cut through their shields. Destabilized by the failing systems buoying them above the heavy pull of gravity, the stations broke down and plummeted into the atmosphere of each planet they orbited.

As the burning debris cleared away following the destruction of the orbital stations, the Protheans were left at last to continue their assault unabated. Slowly, they made their way through space and targeted the Metakon mothership.

The intelligence turned its attention to the lower levels of the mothership, accessing the drones there directly to observe the first successfully re-engineered primitives taken from the local system.

The drones, sleek-bodied machines resembling cephalopods with their bulbous heads directly attached to their torsos and multiple elongated metal tentacles capable of performing multiple tasks at once, hummed to life and hovered over to the room opposite of their storage unit. They passed the heavy security doors on their way out, and stopped upon reaching the chamber holding the nutrient pods that encased the first batch of bio-engineered primitives.

Both drones' multiple eyes made an audible series of clicks as the connection between the overseeing intelligence and the drones themselves weakened, causing their shutters to open and close repeatedly. The intelligence assessed the situation again and concluded that the Protheans were firing some form of subspace signal jamming wave to prevent the mothership from calling out to its allies for help. It adapted quickly, focusing all its efforts on finishing its intended task while the remaining defending ships were ordered to make one last desperate attempt to slow the Protheans' advance.

The drones selected two of the pods and moved them into the testing chamber.

Once they had made certain that the chamber was sealed to prevent escape, they opened the nutrient pods, hovering back quickly as the capsule doors slid open with a loud pop. Thick green juices smelling sweet of carbohydrates and proteins gushed out in torrents, dripping free from the pods as they poured onto the floor. Drainage slits opened in the floor in response to this, allowing the juices to seep through and leave the floor clear of the mess. The pods' occupants stumbled out of their cells and onto the floor weakly as they were so suddenly pulled from sleep. Coughing violently in an attempt to rid their respiratory systems of the stray juices, the primitives instinctively fumbled around their faces for the plastic tubes inserted into their orifices and gently pried them out.

Freed to breathe in the sterile, crisp air of the room, the primitives found strength to stand on their two feet.

Legs and arms wrapped in steely, bulging muscles, stretched and strained against flesh. Course, hard leathery skin filled with overlapping scales of dull brown, red and mottled yellow, grew taut as the impressive forms of the Metakon's creations stood to their full height. Half-webbed toes wiggled upon touching the cold chamber floor. Two reptilian eyes of bright green peered through oval sockets, protected by two sets of eyelids that blinked repeatedly as they adjusted to the brightness of the room.

Both were males, distinguished from their female counterparts by their increased stature and bulky frame. They stood with their necks bending slightly forward, a consequence of extra musculature stretching across their shoulders and back to compensate for the loss of their wings. Overlapping plates, starting from the small of their backs and running up through their spine to meet at the back of their heads, the plates formed a prominent crown that extended over the lobes that functioned as ears, forward into the forehead, meeting only above the apex of the brows. These plates then jutted backwards, forming two prominent horns that seemed to vibrate with each breath they took from their near-flat, protruding noses.

Hands sporting four fingers, with corresponding opposable thumbs, flexed and clenched tightly into fists as the males turned their attention to one another, then to the hovering drones from which the overseeing intelligence observed their behavior.

Then, a device was brought into the testing chamber. A cylindrical object with strange glowing patterns that hummed with power and glowed yellow, the device was brought close to the vicinity of the two primitives. Then, a photonic projection of a Prothean, quickly made tangible by crystals, was presented into the testing chamber. This noticeably agitated the primitives, though more out fear than hostility.

Activated, the cylindrical device emitted a signal that, while almost unnoticeable by most sensors, was quickly picked up on by the primitives.

Their horns vibrated in short bursts, twice in succession, and their overall behavior changed in an instant. They howled, beating their fists angrily on the floor and snapping at one another in a crude display of quickly formed alliance. Then, they lunged for the projection and shattered it into a million pieces.

More projections were used, and obliterated by the impressive strength of the two primitives. Still, this did not satisfy the overseeing intelligence. Intent on finding out the extent of its creation's capabilities, it halted the production of the Prothean projections and waited to see what would happen.

Left without a foe to destroy, and with the device's signal still buzzing in their heads, it didn't take long for the primitives to find an enemy in one another.

The bigger one turned his wrath on the smaller primitive, and swung his open hand across his victim's face, intent on scratching out his eye. The claws missed the smaller primitive's eye, but opened several cuts across his face. Instinct was strong within the two, and the smaller one displayed this by adapting quickly. Though their combat prowess was crude at best, there was some semblance of inherent technique in the smaller one's actions.

It used the bigger primitive's weight and strength against it, closing the distance between them and avoiding the reach of the bigger one's claws by grappling him from behind. Opening his mouth, the smaller one sank his teeth into the bigger one's neck. The vicious bite caused the bigger one to howl in agony, for this was the first time he had experienced pain, whimpering piteously as the smaller one kept a tight grip on him with his teeth.

The smaller primitive needn't express it as much, but he demanded the bigger one's submission.

The bigger primitive thrashed wildly, attempting to throw the smaller one off of his back. Frustrated with his opponent's obstinacy, the smaller one quickly got up and slammed his knee into his kin's face. There was a loud crack as hard carapace hit bone, and the bigger primitive yelped and curled up into a ball on the floor.

The smaller primitive brought his face close to his beaten opponent's head, and with his mouth still bloody from the bite earlier he roared in his ear. The bigger one slowly sat up. As the overseeing intelligence watched, it assumed that the primitive would try to fight a second time, owing to its size and evidently far superior strength. Surprisingly, the bigger primitive did the opposite, and willingly submitted. It displayed a secondary instinctual response to defeat, showing respect to the strengths that the smaller primitive possessed that he did not.

The intelligence saw a potential structure of the primitive race's hierarchy, and postulated that they would indeed become a well-structured slave race, provided that once this crisis it was currently undergoing passed and its creation survived long enough for the Metakon to make use of.

With that, the intelligence switched off the device and stopped the signal, withdrawing immediately to begin the last stage of its project.

Then, left alone by the overseeing intelligence, an amazing thing happened.

No longer rendered hostile by the signal, the victorious primitive was left quizzical, almost as if nothing of what transpired registered in his mind. Upon seeing the results of his actions earlier, the primitive's expression turned to horror. Mortified by his display of violence, the primitive showed a sudden change in his overall behavior- or rather, he reverted to his normal state. Showing concern for his enemy, he moved to inspect the injuries of his defeated kin.

The bigger primitive looked up, gasping for air as he was left breathless from exertion. He showed his wounded neck to his superior, allowing the other primitive to see that the wound quickly closed over.

* * *

Giving commands to the entire vessel, the overseeing intelligence willed the mothership to detach its most precious cargo.

A smaller obelisk, housing thousands upon thousands of vat-grown primitives- future soldiers of the Metakon- encased within nutrient pods, was launched discreetly from the mothership and sent hurtling through space towards a targeted planet far from the system where the Relay was located. This preset world had been scanned and sufficiently terraformed to accommodate the primitives and provide a much needed environment for their population to grow, that one day the Metakon would uplift them and use them to fight against the Protheans.

A new race of bio-engineered soldiers, conditioned to be entirely devoted to the Metakon and fight their wars. The perfect weapon against the Prothean Empire.

But, sacrifices must be made to ensure that these primitives would remain to serve the Metakon, and not their enemies. Access to this system needed to be severed, with the obelisk's automated and heavily encrypted signal used to call out to the Metakon once the failsafe procedure was complete.

The failsafe; a simple and potent protocol that would destroy all intruders but would ultimately destroy the Relay and the system around it. The intelligence calculated that the resulting supernova-level blast from the Relay's destruction would destroy the system, but the maximum reach would be close to the preset world's system without destroying its creation. The variable, dictating that the blast may be stronger than calculated and may destroy several more planets adjacent to the preset world, had been deemed acceptable.

The primitives will survive. They must.

There was a brief moment wherein the mothership started to vibrate intensely as its thrusters pushed it free from the planet's gravity well and off to space. Prothean beams hammered against its shields, some even punching through and cut into the bulkheads. Gradually, the mothership picked up speed as it headed closer and closer to the Mass Relay.

Thinking that the Metakon mothership was attempting to escape the system, the Prothean battleships followed close, firing ceaselessly as they relentlessly pursued the massive vessel. All the while, the seedship sent by the mothership had slipped away, gaining precious distance from the killzone and into deep space.

The overseeing intelligence, content that its work would live on, ignored the reports screaming at it of the critical damage done to its ship and fixed its attention on the Mass Relay. By the time the Protheans realized what the mothership was actually doing, it was already too late. They had crossed the terminal threshold, their fate was sealed.

The massive, ringed construct sensed the presence of the vessel and pulled it close to its core, further accelerating the mothership deeper and deeper into the stabilizer rings that functioned as interstellar FTL jump propellants. The rings came apart, slicing the mothership's prow into pieces, and unleashed the energies housed within. A brilliant flash of blue light momentarily blinded all who looked upon the relay's destruction, then followed by a powerful wave of fire and pure, unadulterated element zero.

Like the waves of the ocean, formless space takes whatever influences it and mirrors its nature. From the smallest roll to the crashing tide, beautiful and powerful, the void assumes a brief parody of its environment before fading away into nothing.

* * *

The seedship arrived upon its intended destination.

The preset world, a terran paradise filled with huge forests, crystalline lakes and towering snow-capped mountains, had been deemed the most suitable breeding ground for the primitives. This was also due to the fact that the primitives, prior to their alterations, had been taken from this planet. To the intelligence, it seemed logical that their homeworld would be the most hospitable and adapting to its environment should be easy.

Hovering above a chasm within the earth, the seedship twisted itself about so its prow would face the bottom of the chasm before slowly descending into it. A violent shudder ran through the planet surface and a large dust cloud burst free from the landing zone as the seedship tunneled its way deep into the crack until only the barest tip of its rear could be seen above the chasm.

Fulfilling its first directive, the seedship unleashed a swarm of construction drones, not unlike the ones presiding over the test subjects back on the mothership. These were tasked to spread out across the planet and given a single design to construct. Each drone, supplied with a black metalloid fluid on special packs latched onto their torso plates, was grouped with its fellows into a dozen each. These groups were relayed with the planetary map, systematically designated a sector to build upon, and dismissed.

As the drones dutifully spread out to carry out their orders, the seedship began its next directive.

The doors were opened, and the seedship's precious cargo was finally introduced to its new home.

Hours later, hands emerged from the dark chasm and grasped the edge of the cliffs. The first primitive emerged, a towering giant, hoisted himself up onto solid ground, away from the chasm from which he climbed free from, and beheld the land before him. He took a moment to take in the beautiful grassy plains, the pink and red horizon in the distance, and the sky that now displayed the stars in all their splendor. The primitive male looked down and bent over to extend a helping hand to the one that came next to him.

A female, who had awoken him from his pod when he had been slow to adjust to the Great Awakening, held firmly to his hand as he pulled her out of the chasm. Upon seeing what he saw, she too gazed in wonder at their new home.

Now, others emerged from the chasm too. They came, male and female in equal number, still damp from the green nutritious juices of their pods, to claim the world as the dominant species. When awe and wonder faded, the unrelenting instinct to seize control of the land- their new territory- overtook the males.

Those with the largest horns, the Great Horned Ones, emitted a vibrating howl as their horns shook their many plates together. These Great Horned Ones were fewer in number than those with less prominent horns, but were by far the largest of them, standing at an impressive seven to eight feet in height. A massive brawl immediately ensued, with the lesser horned males looking on to see who would be victorious.

It was not for sport that they looked on, but for an eager anticipation for the strongest male to lead. An inexplicable and quite basic instinct, undoubtedly left there by their creators, but a necessity in this case.

An hour later, only two remained alive out of the dozens of Great Horns that battled there. One was the giant, the first primitive to emerge into the light. The other was distinguished by a broken left horn, more in bad shape than the bigger one.

As the giant loomed over him, the broken one fell to his knees and bowed before the stronger primitive. His one good horn vibrated as he uttered a low, defeated growl. The victor, accepted his surrender and yanked him to his feet. All around, the primitives, especially the males that did not have any horns, uttered a cacophony of yells, whoops and howls of celebration.

The Great Horned One turned his attention to the female who led him out of his slumber and beckoned for her to come closer.

The female, impressed by his strength and brutality, approached with little hesitation. Like all females, she was smaller than her male counterpart. She possessed a lithe, tightly fit form with less prominent scales for skin. Long smooth legs led to wide hips that swayed gently from each step, a sight that all males universally found pleasing to the eyes. From what she lacked in prominent horns, the female made up for with prominent breasts.

The Great Horned One had found his mate, and moved to claim her.

Shamelessly, he pushed the female to her knees and bent her over in front of the crowd around them. Clumsily, taken over by the overwhelming urge to mark her as his own, he mated with her.

Now led by the strongest male among them, and blessed by the first of a thousand offspring, the first Kondrusan people claimed Khondasaar Prime as their own.

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	2. The Kondrusa

**A/N**

**Well, it's apparently gonna be a slow day for me. Might as well upload the next chapter. Back then, I thought a codex-styled background of my OC race would be enough. Now, not so much.**

**Sorry if I cannot get into the action yet, need as much foundation to this worldbuilding thing I'm doing, otherwise it's back to the scrap heap.**

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They waited for their masters to return.

It was a need second to instinct, undoubtedly put there by their creators. Even as the Kondrusa settled in and took root upon Khondasaar's soil, even as they rose from a backward primitive species to quickly advance through age of stone, bronze, and iron, still they waited. Needless to say, they would never meet their creators. For as the Kondrusa grew on the virgin world, the galaxy had fallen silent. The Cycle had ended, and now began anew.

Still, they waited.

They took comfort in the shadow of the Black Towers, the only remaining evidence of their creators ever existing. These gargantuan constructs, all as high as one kilometer, black as night and humming with artificial life, stood in a perfect symmetrical pattern spread across every continent, and even across the seas. Rooted deep into the earth and made out of the most resilient metal the primitives had ever seen, nothing, not even the elements could tear them down. The Kondrusa treated these constructs with the utmost respect, as though they were shrines erected in honor of the gods. Naturally, the resilience of the Black Towers was something even the most advanced civilization could admire.

* * *

As kondrusan numbers grew, so did their culture. Influenced heavily by the shared faith in their creators, and by the inherent brutal nature in them, kondrusan society became one that thrived on violence, war and conquest. Through the years, a simple but effective form of kondrusan hierarchy was created, based off of the size of one's horns. This category could either be male or female, though noticeably more common in the former than the latter.

One out of a hundred births produced a Great Horned One, or in kondrusan tongue was referred to as _Great 'Orn_. These kondrusans were considered the most gifted of their race, for their horns were not only a symbol of status, _Great 'Orns _had greater intelligence and possessed the ability to emit a powerful subliminal signal that forced other lesser kondrusa to become compliant. This ability did not mean that all kondrusans would be compelled to follow a _Great 'Orn_, but they were more likely to accept their influence compared to those with less prominent horns. _Great 'Orn _children would be born with little aggression towards fellow _Great 'Orns_ though it was widely known that they would always be at odds with other _Great 'Orns_. But as they reached maturity, this aggression would grow stronger.

Elder _Great 'Orns _would teach the young ones to control their most violent urges early on, a practice that greatly diminished kondrusan deaths as many were lost to battles for dominance. A pre-adolescent _Great 'Orn _would be pitted against fellow _Great 'Orns_, taught to show grace in victory and submission during defeat. Bested _Great 'Orns _were deemed as worthy opponents and, should they honor their betters, would be accepted as a subservient lesser horn.

Following the traditions passed down by their elders, over time, _Great 'Orns _would not duel to the death for the right to lead. Defeated _Great 'Orns _would instinctively follow the stronger kondrusan, cementing their place as the leaders of their people.

The second to find their place in the kondrusan hierarchy were the _Mid'Orns_. Distinguished from the _Great 'Orns _by their less prominent plated arches that only extended up to the sides of their heads, _Mid'Orns _would function as lieutenants. Though they emitted a weaker subliminal pulse as compared to their superior kin, the _Mid'Orns _still exhibited an influence on the _Nornns._

The _Nornns_, the most common breed of kondrusa and the most numerous, constituted the bottom of the kondrusan hierarchy. Though they may seem as low-class kin, _Nornns _were valued as much as the next kondrusan. After all, leaders needed followers as much as followers needed leaders. Without their horns, _Nornns _were barely able to emit the same signals, if at all, as their superiors and were more likely to serve than to challenge the Great Horned Ones. Though servile, this did not mean that kondrusans were unable to show a capacity for individual thought.

Many contributions, such as impressive architecture, advances in technology and complex military tactics- many were, in fact, done by the hands of lesser horned kondrusans, such as the_ Uni'Orns._

Once regarded as freaks of the natural order, those born with the misshapen coronal plates that resulted in a singular horn protruding from the middle of the forehead, the _Uni'Orns_ were at first regarded with revulsion. But over time, the _Uni'Orns _displayed their own unique talents, such as possessing increased intelligence surpassing even that of the _Great 'Orns. _Though the genius label is by all accounts subjective, the case for the _Uni'Orns _allowed for such a standard to be applied. _Uni'Orn _births were incredibly rare, where one child born in a thousand would inherit the genetic trait, and were always seen as a good omen to whatever family or clan they were born into. Most _Uni'Orns _were excluded from the warrior or cultivator roles that most kondrusans were assigned to, and were given over to the Temples of the Three-Fold Faith, the most popular and oldest existing kondrusan religion on Khondasaar. There, they were raised to act as the people's high priests, believing that their disfigurement was a gift from the gods.

* * *

Just as there were different breeds of kondrusans, so there were different races.

The first most numerous, and arguably the strongest, were the Red Drakes, referred to in the common tongue as _Maen'Anar_. As the name suggested, Red Drakes could be distinguished from the rest of their people by their scarlet and dark crimson skin color. Due to their preference to live in hot, arid environments, Red Drakes were known to inhabit deserts and open subtropical areas. The harsh conditions of these habitats forced the Red Drake bodies to adapt quickly in the name of survival. Evolving at an astonishing rate, Red Drakes grew extra organs and bones to compensate for the hot climate of their habitats. Fatty sacs intended to house extra nutrients lined the Red Drakes' spines, distending the plates that already lined their backs upward by a few centimetres. Spongy bone filters in the nostrils prevented excess moisture from leaving the body, allowing Red Drakes to expel dry air and keep the body hydrated for longer periods of time. In the event that the heat became unbearable, sometimes Red Drakes bellowed heated steam, creating the racial stereotype that they breathed fire.

Red Drakes, due to their harsh life, were conditioned with the psychology for toughness. Red Drakes respected strength above all and more often than not, saw other races as inferior. This mentality caused many to raid and attack rival clan settlements. Many wars fought from the Bronze Age to the Age of Steel were instigated by the Red Drakes.

The Sky Drakes, or commonly known as _Maen'Vihaas, _a fleet-footed race that lived in the mountainous regions of Khondasaar Prime. Exposed to the cold and nonetheless harsh environment of the elevated regions, Sky Drakes were recognized by their bright pale scales, offset by small dark blue scutes that ran in neat little patterns across their arms, neck and chest. These scales allowed the Sky Drakes to blend into the snow, obscuring them from the many predators that roamed the region and from the prey that sustained them. Another trait, as their name implied, was their ability to glide through the air with the aid of patagia that extended from their lowest rib to their forearms. Sky Drakes possessed less body mass compared to their Red Drake cousins, which suggested the excess skin's adaptation to forming their patagium.

All kondrusans exhibited both warm and cold-blooded characteristics, though for the case of the Sky Drakes their physiology adapted to favor the former over the latter in response to the cold climate of their preferred habitat.

Sky Drakes were not conditioned for an incredibly high capacity for violence, but respected self-sufficiency rather than the pack mentality demonstrated by Red Drakes. In activities such as hunting, this conditioning was displayed in that Sky Drakes hunted in twos or threes, mostly with one being the elder to impart its knowledge to the younger ones. Or in another case, a couple would choose to move away from an aerie rather than build up a clan. Solitude, in their culture, meant less competition and more opportunity to hone one's skills.

Sky Drakes believed in a diluted version of coexistence, but did not shy from violence, as demonstrated in their dealings with their fellow kondrusans. In times of war, diplomatic solutions would be sought before conflict would be decided as a course of action.

Sky Drakes, in their settlements, were largely widespread but extremely endogamous in their partnerings. The concept of "rivaling clans" was entirely alien to them, for they were in every sense, the same family. Due to their incestual unions, the Sky Drakes had the highest rate of _Uni'Orn _births among the Kondrusa.

The _Verhi'kon_, the Snake People, made up the minority.

Favoring the jungles, bayous and rivers, the Snake People were a reclusive sort and extremely territorial. Short, stocky and muscular with minute scales compared to the other two races, _Verhi'kon _have adapted to survive in the humid environment. Their scales hugged tightly to their bodies as opposed to jutting out dramatically, reducing friction as well as giving them the unique ability to perceive vibrations in the air and earth. Their respiratory organs have evolved to better suit for semi-aquatic living, forming a second set of nostrils above the coronal plating of the brows and a sealing organ to the primary nostrils to prevent water inhalation while swimming.

Females born among the _Verhi'kon_ were rare, and were regarded with the utmost respect and reverence. _Verhi'kon Great 'Orns _have a tendency to be all female, and the most fertile were given the highest positions, serving as matriarchal rulers of the Snake People.

_Verhi'kon _females have adapted differently in terms of reproduction. While _Maen'Anar _and _Maen'Vihaas _were considered viviparous, in which they give birth to live young, _Verhi'kons _evolved to adopt ovoviviparous characteristics. Females were fertilized in _Verhi'kon _couplings, then formed nutrient rich sacs covered with soft calcium carbon shells. These "eggs" were kept in the womb for a period of weeks before being expelled. A female would be able to lay as many as twenty to forty eggs in a single month, balancing the population rate. _Verhi'kon _women were known to have multiple partners during mating rituals, resulting in the popular myth of _Verhi'kon _promiscuity in modern times.

The Snake People value familial ties, exclusively within their race, and harbor a strong distrust against "outsiders". Following the emergence of the kondrusa into the Age of Steel, the Snake People were the last race to give up isolationism. Despite their reluctance to connect with the rest of Khondasaar, preferring to live in the relative safety of the swamplands and riverlands, the Snake People demonstrated a surprising amount of knowledge concerning the cultures and peoples around them. The _Verhi'kon _mastered early on the art of espionage, infiltrating whole cities and cultures undetected and vanishing without any trace of their involvement, thus returning to their lands with priceless secrets.

Owing to the _Striga _doctrine, which loosely translated as "Know the Unknown, be the Unknown", the _Verhi'kon _believed that knowing while remaining unknown themselves was the most powerful strategy in war. Thus, during the Bronze Age and Age of Steel, great pains were taken to conceal their people's true nature and intent. Their lands remained isolated, until the coming of the Feudal Age following the Age of Steel. In warfare, _Verhi'kon _always fought from afar, demonstrated by their preference of greatbows in open battles. Or from the shadows, like in more common cases, sabotage and assassinations.

Due to the _Striga _doctrine, other races for the most part viewed the Snake People as cowardly and treacherous.

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	3. Dark Millenium: The Deadlands

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_**Dark Millennium: Approximately 1080 BCE ( Before Council Era )**_

_"Though dark as the blackest night, that age was our defining moment in history. For as night gives way to dawn, so did we rise from that age of barbarism." - excerpt from a forgotten library_

At the end of the Age of Steel came the Age of Fire, a period in kondrusan history that many historians viewed as an unprecedented rapid deterioration in global economy, culture and demography following an equally rapid period of economical and industrial growth.

In this period, an arms race for global power supremacy led to a series of conflicts between the _Maen'Anar _and _Maen'Vihaas_. The creation of the Red Drakes' Kosturan Imperium following their victory over the Sky Drakes in Continente Magnus, the largest continent in all of Khondasaar, and the union of the clans, saw to the creation of the largest army the world ever saw. In an attempt to intimidate, but not defeat, their rivals in the neighboring continents and isles, the Kosturan Imperium devoted most of its resources to enhance its armored divisions. They created the first mechanized infantry division, employing the use of both infantry and heavy-assault vehicles such as tanks, armoured cars and mobile-artillery.

Intimidation was, for the most part, successful.

Fearing an impending attack, the _Maen'Vihaas _that controlled Continente Secundus, which was the second largest continent on Khondasaar Prime, banded together and formed the Horizon Union. Though their armies would never be able to form a sufficient countermeasure against the far superior Red Drake army, the Sky Drakes focused their efforts on improving on what they already possessed. Owing to their mastery of the skies since the dawn of time, the Horizon Union endeavored to create a vast aerial fleet to counter the Red Drakes' shock-troops on the ground. Their attempts at competing for world power were seen as an act of aggression, and inevitably, led to a second war- a World War that spanned the centuries.

The _Verhi'kon _who've maintained their distance from either faction, content with their isolation from the conflict in the Sublands, a collection of subtropical peninsulas separated from both Magnus and Secundus by the main ocean body, were forced to take part in the struggle against the Kosturan superpower when the Red Drakes brazenly seized their outlaying territories. Though few in number in terms of manpower, the _Verhi'kon _revealed to Khondasaar a strength that far surpassed the secrets and plots. In response to the Kosturan mechanized infantry marching through their borders, the _Verhi'kon _unleashed their most closely guarded secret- the android army known as the Eternal Army- to balance the odds.

Created from a resilient metalloid similar to the Black Towers, powered by revolutionary nuclear-powered cells that ensured a near-limitless supply of energy, these tireless and nigh-invulnerable machines nearly turned the tide. Unfortunately, this resulted largely into a stalemate thanks to the Imperium's adaptability.

Having found a worthy foe in both the _Maen'Vihaas _and the _Verhi'kon_, the _Maen'Anar _socioeconomically transformed fully into one that thrived on warfare. Even as the land crumbled around them, they always found a way to push onwards. Over time, Khondasaar Prime's landscape changed drastically from a paradise into a cracked and blasted wasteland. Where there was only green and luscious blue, now bright red sands covered the planet's face.

The Black Towers, the testaments of their creators ever existing, stood unmoved as they had always been, as the immortal watchers of Khondasaar Prime's slow death.

As the world around them was ultimately rendered uninhabitable, due in no small part to the wars fought on its soils as well as the influx of industrial wastes, a reluctant ceasefire was formed. The planet itself would never recover, so the kondrusa turned their attention to projects that would take them to the stars. Again, spurred by competition, the three races took advantage of the brief respite and raced for control of the heavens.

These space-worthy vessels were not crafted for exploration alone, but to bear the wrath of their masters as they waged a new war. This period of history would later be dubbed as the Age of the Bloodied Stars. Unable to resolve past conflicts and harboring a hatred for one another due to centuries of war, the kondrusa resumed hostilities almost immediately after leaving the planet surface.

No longer bound to Khondasaar Prime, the kondrusa settled on the neighboring systems, colonizing the worlds of the Bloody Expanse and leaving a small quasi-religious conglomerate faction to remain on their ancestral homeworld.

The Kosturan Imperium settled on the desert worlds Ignis, Akkun and Amaska, utilizing the planets' rich bounty of minerals to feed the roaring flames of the Red Drake war machine, and again focused their efforts on expansion and conquest. They carved a vast territory in the Expanse, bringing in to their control five whole systems which held a staggering amount of sixty planets, later to be named the Lernaean Cluster after the Kosturan Emperor Lernaeus the Greater.

The Horizon Union, laying claim to the icy dwarf planet Krosova and its neighboring gas giant, Veskan, concentrated heavily on cementing its position in the system by digging in as opposed to the idea of conquering the galaxy. While not as vast as the territory claimed by the Kosturan Imperium, holding a sizable amount of forty planets, the Union's territories were undeniably well structured and well defended.

The _Verhi'kon _Eternal Matriarchy predictably, retreated to Kalibre, a far-flung greenhouse planet, and waged their own war from a distance. No one knew the extent of the Matriarchy's territories, and so far the full wrath of the Imperium or the Union had not reached the _Verhi'kon_, though this could change quickly. After all, no one was safe from the ambition of the Red Drakes.

Upon settling on these new homeworlds, the Imperium and the Union discovered even more Black Towers hidden on each planet. As suggested by popular opinion, the work of their creators existed even beyond Khondasaar Prime, and many took it as a sign that the conflict had been preordained. Many, but not all.

For some, the conflict had made them weary.

As the years went by, more and more minor factions began to surface in isolated systems scattered across the Bloody Expanse. Usually found in asteroid belts, in barren and war-torn worlds, these factions were a mix of _maen'anar, maen'vihaas_, and_ verhi'kon_ who've turned away from the conflict to eke out a living in the dregs. They were often dismissed as inconsequential by the three major factions and were ignored for the most part, the exception being the numerous pirate factions that sprouted like weeds among them.

Driven by a shared need to survive the devastation of the unending war, they formed the kondrusa criminal underworld. Piracy and illegal trade were their primary source of income, leading to creation of the interplanetary black market.

* * *

_**The Bloody Expanse: Kondrusa System: Voskara  
Desert Mining World, Active Warzone  
DM 1080 BCE**_

The winds kicked up a huge dust cloud, uncovering a mass grave half-buried in the sands of Voskara. With their bones twisted at odd angles, fingers still clutching tight to their weapons as though even in death they still fought their battles, the remains of the long-dead kondrusans lay spread out like a macabre script their successors were doomed to replay over and over again in that hellish theater.

The roar of a dozen battle-tanks could be heard over the dunes as they rolled out through the wilderness, escorting the Kosturan heavy infantry deployed on site to retake an ore processing plant which had been captured by Union special forces. This particular part of the Kosturan frontier had been dubbed "The Deadlands" because of how heavily contested the territory had become over the months the Union had made planetfall, following a devastating defeat of the Imperial Fleet in Voskara's skies.

The Horizon Union flotilla, composed primarily by swarm carriers and escort frigates, now dominated Voskara's orbit. Having severed Imperial supplies and reinforcements by their blockade, and with their presence providing a good rally point for Union ships in the system, this presented an inevitable victory for the Voskara Campaign. However, time had proven the Red Drakes resourceful, especially in their most desperate moments.

Kosturan resistance was fierce, and whatever the Sky Drakes seemed to throw at them, the Red Drakes seemed to throw back with equal force.

The roar of battle-tank engines ceased, replaced by the howl of the desert wind and the faint clamor of refinery turbines within the processing plant's enclosure. The Red Drakes crouched low behind the dune and crept up to peer over its crest.

There, in the center of a flat plain surrounded by the desert dunes, lay the processing plant. Mining cars operated by simple androids worked ceaselessly to bring up raw pyrinnite crystals from the fissures in the earth in the dig sites close to the plant. Pyrinnite could be mined only on the three desert worlds, and sometimes on the asteriod rings orbiting the gas giant Veskan, which lay in Sky Drake territory. These priceless minerals were the lifeblood of the modern age, the fuel for their machines. It was no surprise that this was one of the reasons why the war kept on going.

Their commander, _Mid'Orn _Heela, tossed a small disc-shaped drone into the air. The drone emitted a low hum as it hovered in the air, then sped up into the sky as commanded by the Red Drake. Heela drew back the protective lid on his left gauntlet and studied the images photographed by the drone to better understand the strength of the Union's defenses.

His fingers slid across the thin screen as he enhanced the images pertaining to the trio of _Nornn-Hunters_, Sky Drake gunships, sitting inactively on the landing pad on the side facing opposite of the Kosturan task force's current position. An anti-tank gun had been installed on top of a hastily pieced-together gunner-ramp that was protected by a bulkhead wall, presenting the fact that the enemy had been warned about their approach. With the flotilla still in orbit, and undoubtedly going to stay there for a very long time, the Sky Drakes had all the eyes in the sky.

Time was growing short fast, Heela knew that the Union had called for reinforcements, and that the processing plant would be swarming soon with Sky Drake soldiers. The plant needed to be retaken, so that the army could be resupplied with fresh power-crystals and that the fight against the Horizon Union could continue in the Voskara conflict. With communications severed, the Kosturan resistance on Voskara had no way to determine how long it would take before reinforcements would break through the blockade. Perhaps, in the worst case scenario, there wouldn't be any reinforcements at all. But even with doubts clouding the Red Drakes' minds, the _Nornns _trusted their leaders. The fire in them hadn't died just yet, and they were just as hungry for a fight as the day they first set foot on the Deadlands.

The Makkra tanks traversed their turrets to aim for the anti-tank gun. Heavily armored with siserian steel plates, a material almost exclusively made in the Kosturan Imperium, and sporting a railgun as its primary weapon and a secondary anti-personnel ordnance cannon- the Makkra tanks were the workhorses of the Imperial Armored Division, the iron fist of the Imperium's fighting arm- so to speak. Possessing three pairs of treads that could adapt to any terrain, the Makkra tanks proved invaluable to every battle fought in the Imperium's long history of war, as they steamrolled unabated through every campaign.

Heela didn't want to damage the plant any more than necessary, especially since repairs would consume resources they could not afford. The Makkra convoy would bear the brunt of the Sky Drakes' defenses, covering the infantry while they charged for the plant. The plan was simple; neutralize all threats, reclaim the processing plant and hunker down. Once the mission was complete, Heela would break radio silence and alert the rest of the battalion deployed in the Deadlands.

A dozen Makkra tanks, usually, would be considered overkill in most cases. But in this, Heela knew from experience how underestimating the Sky Drakes cost the Imperium, mostly dealt in heavy casualties and lost territories. Though they weren't as hardy as Red Drakes, Sky Drakes were just as quick to adapt to a situation as they were- even quicker when their kinsmen were in trouble. After they finished the fight here, there would soon be another as the Horizon Union would send in wave after wave of task forces to retake the plant- unless of course, they chose to just bombard it from orbit if their patience had reached its end.

"Alright _Nornns_, fix bayonets." Heela told them. "All tanks, move forward." He said to the Makkra tank commanders, "You may fire when ready."

_"Acknowledged, Mid'Orn."_ The valley echoed with the roar of Makkra cannon fire. The anti-tank gun emplacement fell apart and burst into flames, but not before taking down one Makkra tank with it. The high-powered shell punched a hole the size of a kondrusan fist through the lower glacis, igniting the ammunition stored in the lower compartment. The resulting explosion ripped the turret right off the chassis, killing the crew inside, and the soldiers standing next to the tank.

"Gun emplacement down! Stay behind the tanks! Watch your spacing!" Heela yelled over the rattle of gunfire. The Red Drakes slowly but surely, closed the distance between them and the enemy position, just as the Sky Drakes took cover behind the bulkhead wall and began firing at the approaching convoy.

Huddling together in two straight lines behind each Makkra tank, Heela's task force of twenty _Nornns _waited patiently as they made a slow advance, using the Makkra as cover. Once they were within firing range, and supported by their tanks' powerful weaponry, the Kosturan imperials would swarm and overwhelm the defenders.

Looking through the eyes of the drone in the sky, Heela noticed that the _Nornn-Hunter _gunships did not stay inactive for long. Quickly, as the gunships appeared above the plant, Heela commanded the tank gunners to target the _Nornn-Hunters_ but told them to keep moving. Their guns had stabilizers, they could fire on the move, though this did not mean it would be easy to hit a fast moving target like a Sky Drake gunship.

"Incoming gunship!" Heela said, though doubting anything about that helped in the least. Boxed in by enemy infantry fire, and metres away from the dune, there was hardly any place for them to go but forward. Forward, into the gunship fire, and hope they'd survive the strafe.

_"Relax, Mid'Orn. This isn't our first battle." _Another thunderous peal from the Makkra in front of him, _"It won't be the last."_

Heela and the _Nornns _with him ducked down as a hail of bright yellow streaks churned up a hundred puffs of dust, then rattled harmlessly against the tank's hull. A couple of _Nornn-Hunters _flew by, looking to circle back for another round. "If you don't shoot those damn things out of the sky, it just might!"

The turret traversed quickly to the rear and fired, cutting down one of the gunships and sending it plummeting back into the earth. The _Nornn-Hunter _exploded on impact, sending burning scrap flying in all directions.

_"Hah! Right in the red ring, good job gunner."_

Suddenly, a high-pitched scream tore through the air, followed by a head-splitting concussive blast that brought the nearby _Nornns _to their knees. Heela didn't see it, but the shot very nearly penetrated the Makkra tank's armor.

Daring to peer from the side at the source of the high-powered shot, Heela saw something he missed in his early scans of the place- a Neerma light-armored tank-destroyer. A highly mobile armored-personnel carrier redesigned to utilize a high-powered tank-destroyer gun, the Neerma was a common but deadly war machine in the Union's vast collection of vehicles. The Union may have not invested all their designs on improving their tanks, but the Neerma was proof that assault-vehicles didn't need to be heavily armored to be taken seriously in battle.

Seconds later, another shot came from the Neerma's gun, disabling the Makkra with the second shot as it broke the auxiliary transmission. Not even waiting for the Neerma to finish the job, a Sky Drake demolitions-specialist popped out of his cover and hoisted a rocket-launcher onto his shoulder. Heela looked through his rifle's sights and fired a burst from his weapon, cutting down the Sky Drake just as he fired his first rocket.

The missile wove through the air wildly and sped across the plain, detonating on impact as it struck the disabled Makkra tank. The explosion knocked the Red Drakes to the ground, dazing but not killing them. Recovering quickly, the hardy _Maen'Anar _psyched themselves up with a cacophony of bellows and growls. Bloodlust overtook them, and fearlessly they emerged from the cover of the destroyed tank to charge the enemy position.

Many were cut down by enemy fire, but the few who reached the entrenched _Maen'Vihaas _defenders proved to be enough as they disrupted their counter-engagement, allowing the convoy to advance well into the enclosure of the processing plant.

All six wheels of the Neerma turned as it moved away from the heat of the melee, firing all it had against the Makkra tanks to give its fellows some breathing room. Too late, the Red Drakes had already broken through.

"_Nornns, _move up!" Heela yelled, ignoring the throbbing pain in his head from the explosion earlier as he focused on finishing the task at hand quickly.

The Red Drakes fired their weapons, often point-blank in the enemy's faces, and impaled those closest to them on their bayonets. Some tore them limb from limb, or smashed their heads into a bloody pulp with their bare hands. Reveling in the bloodlust was common among Red Drakes, though older horned ones like Heela found it distasteful and immature. He let his soldiers have their fun, ordering the tanks to destroy the remaining opposition as well as the Neerma attempting to escape.

He looked up and watched as the surviving _Nornn-Hunters _sped away from the carnage, clearly opting to fight another day.

"Well, the plant's ours." Heela sighed, motioning for the _Nornns _to move in and clean up in preparation for the rest of the battalion.

**}!{**


	4. Dark Millenium: The Voskaran Blitz

**}!{**

_**The Bloody Expanse: Kosturan Space adjacent to Voskara  
**__**Imperial Frontier Starbase "His Majesty's Bastion"**  
__**DM 1080 BCE**_

The clamor of machinery within the outpost's walls was loud, more so than usual due to the arrival of what was left of the 14th Imperial Fleet.

Five squadrons, each carrying ten battlecruisers and a small escort of twenty frigates and thirty interceptors, deployed and engaged the Union fleet orbiting Voskara. What should have been an easy fight turned into a disaster as the Union fleet quickly withdrew, seemingly giving ground to the invading fleet, then suddenly came rushing back with twice the firepower and numbers.

Like a wide net cast over the waters, ensnaring the approaching school of fish, the 14th Imperial Fleet was drawn into the trap. Slowly, the net tightened, crushing the _maen'anar _ships together among the burning wrecks of their sister-ships and leaving little hope for escape. Hot plasma and bulk-tearing warheads tore through siserian steel, sending crews screaming into the void as the vacuum of space ripped them free from their vessels. The Union counter-assault was relentless, for they knew the Red Drakes were just as merciless, leaving anyone alive would present unwanted complications.

Only one cruiser and three of its support frigates was left from the battle, miraculously escaping the horrid fate of its sister-ships as it limped back into Kosturan space. Without their presence in Voskara's orbit, the _maen'anar _on planetside were left vulnerable to the Horizon Union.

It had been about three months since their defeat, and once the sting of dishonor faded, the Red Drakes of the Voskara Campaign were ready to do battle again.

The day the repairs were finished was the same day a reinforcing fleet arrived on _His Majesty's Bastion_.

Emerging from the Age of Fire, shedding the outdated moniker "clan" and taking up the title of Great Houses, the Red Drakes proclaimed their most powerful _Great'Orn _the supreme ruler of the Kosturan Imperium. _Great'Orn _Jormungandr I, named after the first _Great'Orn _to lead the kondrusa in ancient times, was the first of a long and proud line of Emperors. He fathered a generation of talented commanders, all _Great'Orns_, to lead his armies. Through his House, the Kosturan Imperium carved its name into the soil of Khondasaar Prime, forever cementing his family's legacy and position in the Imperium's hierarchy.

Today, one of his descendants turned away from one theater of war to Voskara, summoned by the current Emperor to personally wrest control of the system away from the Union.

Commander Verenor of House Nast'rond ascended the ramp of his personal transport ship, pausing to glance back at hundreds of _maen'anar _soldiers boarding their own transporters in the _His Majesty's Bastion's _hangar. The _Great'Orn _watched them, especially the new recruits, all forming the blood-red sea of crimson-armored Red Drakes, as they marched across the hard cold steel floor.

Occasionally, an ornn would look up at him and see what he would probably look like after surviving a hundred campaigns. Scars marred the veteran drake's face on his left side, making it look like a road map marked by a branding iron.

In a time where countless heroes had their names sung in every bar and screamed across paraded streets, Verenor stood out. With a mind as sharp as his blade, Verenor was as much as a politician as he was a soldier and wielded his influence with as much grace as his weapons. Reforms and policies that benefited the lesser horned kondrusan soldiers were usually influenced by Verenor Nast'rond, earning him the admiration of the ornns and the ire of his elders.

All Kosturan soldiers wore the standard medium-class imperial armor, made with folded siserian plates to maximize damage protection as well as offer freedom of movement, with the exception of the specialists or high-ranking officers. Imperial officers, like the _Mid'Orns _who distinguished themselves in the academy or in battle, were given modifications of their choice. Some acquired reinforced plating or some additional weaponry.

Verenor, for instance, had a Squire Mk.2 autocannon installed on an omni-directional gunner ramp attached to his back in place of the standard military supply pack most imperial armors came with. This modification came with a complex computer system that was surgically placed into the commander's amygdala- the part of the brain responsible for emotions, survival instincts and memory. Reacting as quickly, if not quicker, as its user to danger, the Squire Mk.2 became a popular defensive tool among the imperial officers as it had saved many lives as much as it had taken.

In the fight against the Sky Drakes, the autocannon would be very useful when he landed planetside.

Verenor's right hand closed over the handle of his battleaxe, Skysplitter, a ceremonial weapon gifted to him by the Emperor himself.

The axe handle length was half his size, at four feet, with a double-ended half-crescent blade that represented the two moons that orbited the capital world of the Kosturan Imperium, Ignis. Verenor kept the weapon on his person at all times, having saved his life in a battle when his sidearm failed him at the most crucial moment. The battleaxe had been upgraded with a better alloy when the former had shown signs of wear from battle. In addition, the blades' edges were replaced with a plasma heated metallic core encased in a microthin magnetic field, enabling devastating melee that was capable of setting enemies aflame, making it more effective at cutting through enemy armor and even reinforced steel.

Determined to save the stranded _maen'anar _on Voskara, Verenor planned not only to break the blockade but intended to cement the Imperium's position on the mining world for good. He didn't bring his fleet and his ornns to this part of the front just to prolong the conflict in that theater of war, he was going to end it.

The imperial fleet left the _His Majesty's Bastion _and headed for the starbase's rift-gate.

Rift-gates provided the kondrusa their means of interstellar travel, functioning as spacial-stabilizer conduits that opened controlled tears in the quantum fabric of reality. Originally invented by the _maen'vihaas _upon establishing their empire, it wasn't long before the _maen'anar _and _verhi'kon _discovered this new method of transportation for themselves.

These rifts in space opened into a non-visible infinitesimal dimension the kondrusa call the "underverse", in which the laws of physics that governed the known reality were openly defied. Popular theories and opinions state that the "underverse" mainly manifested itself as a mirror of space itself, but totally devoid of light, and operated under its own chaotic laws. It was widely accepted as the governing force that caused nebulas to fuse and compress, forming the stars that burned in the night sky, though most would readily dismiss this as another baseless theory.

Rift-gates use special quantum signal transmitter arrays that allowed them to link up to other rift-gates wherever they may be placed in the Bloody Expanse. In the theory of faster-than-light travel, one might require a navigation-computer to calculate coordinates to avoid a mid-flight collision with debris or heavenly bodies, whereas underversal-travel did not.

In the underverse, time had a loose grip on its reality, so voyages that should have lasted days or weeks would often feel like hours.

Unfortunately, underversal-travel also required a ridiculous amount of energy to be used, forcing rift-gates to accommodate large numbers of ships at a single time. The use of rift-gates was heavily policed, with the imperial military maintaining exclusive free use of its benefits. Due to its accessibility to either faction in the Bloody Expanse, rift-gate positions became heavily contested ground over time, but were kept with meticulous care by whichever side managed to gain control. The destruction of a rift-gate, as many soon after found out, would result in the destruction of the entire system it was in. Naturally, this called for certain adjustments in most engagements, with either faction finding a rift-gate under their possession treating it with the utmost respect and caution.

Rift-gate tunnels could also be extended into many branching routes thanks to special rift-gate nodes. While cheap and relatively easy to manufacture, nodes could not act on their own as rift-gates could. Rather, they acted as a form of navigation detour where sometimes a rift-gate was not accessible. Nodes were frequently targeted and destroyed by opposing factions, with the minority being salvaged by prospecting scavengers and ending up in the black market.

On Voskara, the rift-gate that led to that system was predicted to be heavily guarded by the Union's fleet, with the outlaying systems kept under the watchful eyes of Sky Drake patrols. Using the rift-gate would be outright suicide, but fortunately for the Imperium, a single imperial node still lay within the system. Though far from their intended target, it still cut the distance in half.

The imperial starships took formation before the enormous ringed structure floating motionlessly beside the _His Majesty's Bastion_. Ranging easily at half a kilometre in diameter, it was wide enough to accommodate all 200 ships of Verenor's fleet.

Upon activation, the rift-gate opened a tear in the fabric of reality, leading into the underverse. Through it, the _maen'anar _warships entered the turbulent and nightmarish realm, closing off all access ports such as windows or vents with protective panels to avoid unnecessary complications with their crews. The underverse, as a truly incomprehensible nature on its own, was filled with all manner of life-threatening anomalies, all of which could overwhelm the kondrusan ships if not for their nether-field shield generators. These specialized devices were all that kept a ship and its occupants intact when traveling the underverse, enveloping them in a protective bubble against the planet-crushing force of the rift.

Once sealed, every ship in the fleet braved the underverse and linked up their navigation computers with the node in the Voskara system. Like ships floating about in the dark waters, with only a single lighthouse to guide the way, the Red Drakes headed for Voskara.

* * *

The route in which the Union patrol squadron took should have meant a smooth, uneventful ride through space before returning for refueling. Six frigate-class ships, backed by two battlecruisers, a small squadron but swift enough to cross great distances.

Three months since the last they've seen of the Kosturan Imperium, things had gotten quiet around Voskara. The stranded _maen'anar _on the planet's surface still put up a fight, but were gradually diminishing as the Union fleet coordinated with their strike teams on the ground and bombarded them from orbit. Soon, the system would be theirs for the taking. By the time they were done there, not even the imperials could shatter their defenses.

If only they had seized that chance long ago, this would have been so.

Long-range scanners picked up an enormous power surge in the local area, prompting the patrol squadron to investigate. As they neared the origin of the signal, the rift-gate node revealed itself to their scanners. Upon activation, it could no longer hide itself. The Sky Drakes, to their horror, watched as a massive tear in space opened up in front of them. 200 hundred Kosturan warships came pouring out of the rift, weapons primed and locking on to them.

Reacting quickly, the Sky Drakes broke away and fled the area, ignoring their losses as they took heavy fire from their enemies. Horizon Union ships were, by far, the fastest ships in the Bloody Expanse and were also the most maneuverable. In another situation, they could have managed to slip away. Alas, space was ablaze with energy-weapons discharge and imperial warheads. The Sky Drake squadron joined one another in death, their sundered ships serving as their graves.

Verenor leaned back on his chair, waiting for the triumphant roar of his underlings to die down before setting things into motion. Drakes ran to and fro, carrying out his commands to prepare for the first phase of the campaign. They were to strike at the Union fleet orbiting Voskara and shatter the blockade, taking their place at the rift-gate to link up with the Imperium's travel network so that reinforcements would come.

It would be a hard battle, and many of them would die. The Red Drakes did not shy from death, they were indoctrinated by centuries of imperial propaganda to embrace the cause and revel in a worthy death. Every loss they took inspired the living instead of demoralizing them. They would have their revenge against the Union, and the opportunity to show their enemies the might of the Imperium was too great to pass up.

Verenor felt this as much as the next drake, and he allowed this shared feeling to influence his actions that day.

The fleet didn't bother hiding itself as it neared Voskara. The imperials wanted the Union to know they were coming, taunted them to bare their teeth. And they did, breaking off orbit to form up against the approaching Red Drakes. The Horizon Union fleet amassed itself around the ringed construct sitting 500,000 km above Voskara, intent on setting a rally point for Union reinforcements. Already, the rift-gate was priming to open a portal, linked to the rest of the Horizon Union's underversal-travel network.

"Commander Nast'rond!" A comms officer announced, "Incoming transmission from the enemy flagship!"

"Interesting." Verenor muttered, acknowledging the officer with a wave of his hand. "Put them through." Normally, Verenor would've let his fleet's weapons do the talking. Today, however, he was feeling a bit curious and wanted to at least see the face of his enemy. Standing a few feet away from the captain's chair, a holo-projector displayed the stern face of the Union fleet's commander. In contrast to Verenor's scarred visage, the _maen'vihaas _was fresh-faced, unscarred and reeking of inexperience.

Verenor was not impressed, "Speak quickly, sky drake."

_"A bold move, commander." _Her voice was mocking, _"You bear the standard of the Imperium into battle, unaware of the fact that we have you outnumbered."_

"By two to one, which are good odds." Verenor replied, "Make peace with the gods, for you gaze upon the face of your killer." The drake leaned back and said to the tactical-action officers present on the bridge after dismissing the channel, "Officers, prepare for battle."

He turned to the comms officer, "Send the following transmission to the rest of the fleet; I want to withhold our fighters until we get our targets in range." Verenor preferred to be in a position to support the fleet's swarm, as opposed to letting them harass the enemy fleet ahead of their motherships. "Also, I know it should go without saying- but remind them to exercise caution around the rift-gate. It would be an embarrassing end if a stray round wipes us off the face of the Expanse."

The officer nodded, "Yes sir."

The imperial ships flew in a tight formation, shrugging off the long-range shots coming from the Union's cannons. Aside from being sleek-bodied and possessing less mass to reduce drag during flight, Sky Drake ships had the best energy weapons in the Expanse. Whereas the Kosturan Imperium focused its resources on building up armor and ship size, the Union invested its resources to create weapons powerful enough to negate whatever improvements their enemies had on protection.

Kosturan battleships were known for their numerous, though relatively short-ranged, guns. They favored tanking enemy shots as they closed the distance, setting lighter ships aflame with an overwhelming barrage, or seize them with boarding parties. Though Sky Drake weaponry far surpassed their own, the Red Drakes, more often than not, were able to take incredible amounts of punishment.

Verenor's flagship shuddered as their enemies bombarded them with hail after hail, but spearheaded the assault with unflinching resolve as the imperial fleet changed its formation into an arrowhead.

Plasma rained down on the ship's prow, tearing off pieces of its auxiliary plating and setting a stream of bright red and orange cascading off into dark space. Gunners watched with shared anticipation for the numbers calculated on their targeting computers, indicating the maximum range their guns could draw a bead on a target. Many ships sustained critical damage from the Union's defenses and broke formation, only to be picked off with ease and reduced to pieces to join the growing debris field.

As the alarms blared all over the bridge, warning them of decreasing hull integrity from penetrating shots, the imperials aboard Verenor's flagship waited patiently until the enemy fleet was in range. Once they were, all 100 turrets swiveled about at their gunners' behest and returned fire.

At the same time, all hell broke loose as every imperial warship capable of carrying a fighter or bomber swarm deployed squadron after squadron. Anti-spacecraft guns tore into them as Union frigates weaved in and out of the imperial fleet, firing carefully calculated shots set to disable and cripple enemy battlecruisers.

Still, the imperials kept going.

Like a rock thrown at a sandcastle, Verenor's fleet shattered the Union blockade within minutes! Their carefully plotted defense strategy basically went up in flames, and the Union commanders watched in horror as the tide turned against them. Verenor's tactic left no opportunity for them to exploit their weaknesses, and now his fleet gained the advantage by breaking cohesion and scattering the Union fleet all over the system.

Aboard his flagship, Verenor watched with scrutinizing eyes as fighters whizzed back and forth across the windows of his observation deck. He noticed a couple of swarm-carriers sitting next to the rift-gate, left undefended as its escorts joined in the battle to support their overwhelmed sister-ships. "Concentrate your shots on those Union carriers based at the rift-gate. Watch where you fire."

The imperial battlecruiser moved slowly across space, trailing fire in its wake as it rammed through the much smaller Union warships crossing its path. Three frigate escort ships accompanied it on its journey towards the rift-gate, drawing the enemy's fire and covering Verenor's advance.

Suddenly, a powerful shot from an enemy ship sent a violent shudder across Verenor's flagship, crippling it and slowing its traverse to a crawl. The shot had penetrated a weakened spot just below the armored primary thrusters, blowing them right out of the ship and out into space. Six more shots, all from the same source, destroyed their escorts before they had the chance to retaliate.

"Report!" Verenor said.

"Primary thrusters are down, sir! We're dead in the water!" One of his lieutenants relayed from the engine-room.

All eyes turned to the observation deck and saw one of the Union's larger ships loom into view. It was the enemy flagship.

"We still have guns, don't we?" Verenor asked.

"Yes sir."

"Then shoot."

As the flagship brought its guns to bear, the far swifter Union flagship maneuvered out of the way and fired a single burst from its secondary laser cannon, tearing up dozens of gun turrets in a blazing hot carve across the imperial warship's hull. Verenor's ship returned fire, only lightly damaging the Union flagship as most of the shots missed and the few that hit only struck non-essential parts of its hull.

Irked, but focused on the task at hand, Verenor said to the comms officer. "Rally our swarms! If our guns can't beat this one, then by the gods- our fighters will do our work for us!"

"They're on their way now, sir!" The officer replied after coordinating with his fellows to bring about the swarm pilots zipping in and out of the battle outside.

The swarms repelled the attacking flagship, buying Verenor a few minutes to instruct what little ships in his fleet that weren't busy running down the enemy ships to take their primary objective- which was capturing the rift-gate and severing its connection to the Union network. To his surprise, they ignored him, focusing instead on saving his ship from being destroyed by the enemy flagship and sending it running from the battle.

Overcoming his shock at the obvious disregard for his commands and feeling grateful for the assist, Verenor repeated his command and told them to secure the rift-gate. They had won a close victory when the Union decided to cut its losses and regroup somewhere far from Voskara, leaving the rift-gate at the hands of the Kosturan Imperium. Without mercy, they dealt with the surviving Sky Drakes and established a beachhead before making planetfall to retake the planet.

Verenor made a mental note to have a word with the captains of those vessels who disobeyed his order, wrestling with the decision to either reward or punish the actions of those commanders.

**}!{**


End file.
